Youth baseball coach in court on child porn charges

October 15, 2013|By Amanda Marrazzo | Special to the Tribune

Marcus James Sabo has been charged with 60 counts of child pornography. (McHenry County Sheriff's Office photo)

A former volunteer for the Crystal Lake Babe Ruth youth baseball league was ordered today to undergo another evaluation as he remains jailed on charges that he possessed dozens of images of child pornography.

Marcus James Sabo, 40, formerly of Crystal Lake, is charged with 60 counts of child pornography, one for each of images allegedly found on Sabo’s personal computer, according to court records.

Sabo has been in McHenry County Jail on a $125,000 bond since his Aug. 21 arrest, records show. According to the complaint against him, the images allegedly found on his computer were sexually explicit and depicted boys under the age of 18.

The alleged photos are not believed to feature any of the players in the league for which Sabo volunteered, said Bill Bligh, an attorney for the Crystal Lake Babe Ruth baseball league.

Bligh said Sabo, who was with the organization for 10 years, was never alone with any boys in the league, whose players range in age from 13 to 18.

Bligh also said Sabo underwent a background check, as do all league volunteers. The league board formally "divorced" itself from Sabo as soon as authorities alerted league officials to the investigation this past spring, Bligh said.

According to court records, a complaint against Sabo was filed in April, and an arrest warrant was issued in May. Authorities couldn’t explain why the delay in taking Sabo into custody.

The Illinois State Police, which was the lead police agency in the case, could not be reached for comment following today’s hearing.

Court records also show that Sabo has undergone a psychological evaluation since being in custody. Today, his attorney, Assistant Public Defender Angelo Mourelatos, requested that his client undergo a “sex offender specific evaluation.”

According to Illinois law, such evaluations are used to “assess risk to the community,” identify treatment needs and “are the foundation of treatment, supervision and placement recommendations.”